If you didn't have to work, would you?

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Background: I am an eight year veteran of the US Navy and I am now forced to make a decisiion about what to do in the future. I am 80% disabled, so that part helps a lot should I choose to go to school full time. Also, school is paid for through a variety of options (GI Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation, Hazelwood Act, etc) so paying for school won't be a problem. I currently have about 22 hours from my military experience and classes I took while in the military.

Option A: Continue working full time, and go to school part time.

Option B: Just continue working full time.

Option C: Work part time, and go to school full time.

Option D: Just go to school full time.


The only thing I worry about with option A is that I might not have enough time for studying, etc.

I'm not very inclined to do option B, as I really want to start learning stuff again, and I would love to learn more in programming.

Option C incurs the same worry as Option A.

Option D would require our household to get $600 more in income a month, which my wife might very well do if she gets a different job or gets a possible promotion at her current place of employment.

 

[mooglemania85]

sorry to hear about your physical condition.

If you're comfortable with your financial situation, I'd go to school FT. After getting a feel for what the time requirements will be for classes, school activities, family time, etc., look for a pt gig in a related field maybe for the experience and $.

If $ is more a priority, then I'd go with option A.

 

[Aimster]

u have 8 years of Navy on your resume. You can always get a job if you had dto

Go to school FT

 

[Parasitic]

If "work" means a desk/cubicle job pushing pencils and killing trees, then no.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
If "work" means a desk/cubicle job pushing pencils and killing trees, then no.

Guess I should have specified that. Work currently means working for the university in police dispatch. (We have certified peace officers here on campus, not rent-a-cops.)

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Parasitic
If "work" means a desk/cubicle job pushing pencils and killing trees, then no.

We have a cool thing at work called a computer. Its like a typewriter but has a screen.

Anyways, OP, how'd you get 80% if you dont mind sharing? Use the GI bill and go to school. You can always work later on in life

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Heh, I'm doing the exact opposite right now. I have to work, but I haven't been working for about a month now. When I come back from my holidays then I'll worry about securing two jobs (already interviewed didn't give set start date). I'm just chillin' right now

 

[S Freud]

If I didn't have to work I would go to school FT. I always said that if I didn't have to work full time while going to school full time I would have a 4.0.

Take it from me, working full time and school full time do not mix. It is almost impossible, I have the grades to prove it. I would do part time of either if you can or just go to school full time.

By the way op, how old are you?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: S Freud
If I didn't have to work I would go to school FT. I always said that if I didn't have to work full time while going to school full time I would have a 4.0.

Take it from me, working full time and school full time do not mix. It is almost impossible, I have the grades to prove it. I would do part time of either if you can or just go to school full time.

By the way op, how old are you?

I definitely won't be doing both full time. If I go to school, it will be my top priority, and I want to have enough time to do so. And I am currently 26 (joined the Navy when I was 17, and turned 18 in boot camp).

 

[pontifex]

are you asking what we would do in your situation or what we would do in our own situations?

 

[leftyman]

If I could afford to do whatever I wanted and not have to work? I would never work again.

If you mean sit on the porch all day and drink 40's and collect DSS? No, I would rather flip burgers.

 

[jjones]

Surely I wouldn't work if I didn't have to. And yes, I'm calling you shirley.

 

[DaveSimmons]

What about part time + part time? It will take longer, but your wife working 2 jobs doesn't sound like a good idea.

 

[radioouman]

Why not part time school and part time work? You should definitely do both, but neither has to be full time, right?

 

[OutHouse]

nope.

(in a bad mood right now so my answer is slightly skewed)

 

[paulxcook]

If you only have the 4 options, I would say work part time, go to school full time. But if you're just going to school to learn stuff, aka you don't need it for career advancement, then... can't you just go to school part time and work part time?

 

[irishScott]

I personally couldn't stand not bringing in some form of income, but that's me. Also, work will get you out of the house and social, as opposed to classes which (aside from group projects) don't do much for interactivity.

 

[S Freud]

Being only 26 I would just go to school full time and concetrate on that. Only if you can afford it, If your wife would have to take on two jobs then I would say go to work part time and school full time.

I don't know your work ethic but I imagine being in the milatary you have good time management skills and the ablility to get things done. So I don't think working part time and school full time would be hard at all. Most people I have met do it that way.

 

[bonkers325]

if money is not an issue, then goto school full time! why burden yourself with part time work in addition to full time education?

 

[markgm]

Woohoo, I won another poll!

 

[Parasitic]

OP can you tell us what kind of "school" you'll be doing, undergrad or grad?
Because if you're thining about doing graduate school, then you most likely will not have that much time at all to spare from research. Rather than spreading it thin over the course of time you should just do full time and finish your degree first.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

FYI, I edited the OP for clarity. I didn't mean that my wife would be getting another job in addition to where she is working now. That would be completely stupid. That was a bad choice of words on my part--she will be getting a different job, because she has no intention of staying where she is forever, and she would like to work in her field (bachelors in anthropology with a minor in photography).

The school I will be attending will be undergrad right now. I would like to major in computer science with a minor in physics. Also I would like to get my masters, but we'll see how that goes later. My work ethic is one passed down from my farm-raised father--even to a fault. In relation to this however, my want for higher learning will allow me to circumvent my need to provide for my family until I am done with school, and I can do that better. Now that I'm out of the military, I can't do what I want because I don't have a degree. Regardless of how good I am at anything technical, I don't have the paperwork to get my foot in the door, so I have to take care of that before anything.

 

[Gunslinger08]

What exactly does 80% disabled mean?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
What exactly does 80% disabled mean?

It means the Department of Veteran Affairs has found me to be 80% disabled with the service-connected conditions that I currently have. Monetary entitlements include $1430 per month; medical care and coverage for all service-connected conditions as well as medications for those conditions. There are a bunch of other little things, but that's the summary of it.

 

[Tiamat]

Id probably choose the school option. Learn what you like, and maybe follow up that with some research. If you enjoy the research, go for ph.D afterwards.